


9 to 5

by frei_kugel



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Office Romance, Slow Burn, idk shit abt b4 crisis so pretend it doesn't exist for this story, tags will be added as fic goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29573685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frei_kugel/pseuds/frei_kugel
Summary: When Reno joined the Turks he was no older than 21, assigned to Rude as his partner he gets a rocky start. Over time the two grow closer, and ultimately closer than they could've imagined.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	9 to 5

**Author's Note:**

> so! this is me starting a multichapter fic for the first time in like 8 years? im a huge fan of this ship. i cant believe that the first thing i write for ffvii is renorude but here we are. 
> 
> i'm pretty rusty on writing combat, i hope to improve over my time writing this fic!

After his last successful mission, Rude had acquired a new partner. Went by the name of Reno, last name scribbled out in marker everywhere in his file. Who knew if that was his legal name or not, but Rude had met people with stranger naming conventions. 

Rude sighed as he looked up from his desk and at the elevators for the fifth time that hour. Reno was supposed to start today, and it was nearly half past ten and he hadn’t yet shown up. He wasn’t going to be a Turk for very long if he kept up that attitude. Rude decided not to worry about it and went back to filling out paperwork for the last mission that he had partaken in. 

All of a sudden, there was a commotion at the elevator. A disheveled redhead swaggered in with a backpack slung over his shoulder. His hair was spiky and flopped all over the place, and he had two small red lines below his eyes - probably tattoos. He had Tseng at his side quietly chiding him for what Rude can only imagine is being so late.

“Who cares what time I show up as long as I do my job?” Presumably Reno asked.

Tseng was someone who normally kept himself pretty under wraps, but he looked like he was about to pop. He seemed to take a moment to calm himself before speaking.

“There are rules you have to follow now Reno, or do you want me to put you back where I found you?” Tseng asked almost serenely.

This seemed to make Reno pause and consider what had been said to him. He just shook his head and kept walking. 

Rude wasn’t sure what he had just witnessed, but as of now Tseng and his red haired friend were coming his way. Tseng stopped at his desk and gestured to the redhead.

“Rude, this is Reno, Reno, this is Rude. He’s going to be your new partner from now on.” Tseng said with little flair.

Reno just smirked and cocked his hips, placing a fist there. Rude was not impressed. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“Why am I only getting a partner now?” Rude asked. It was a valid question, he typically worked alone.

“I finally found one good enough for you.” Tseng said simply.

Rude just cocked an eyebrow, his eyes unable to be seen because of the sunglasses perched on his nose. He thought that they said enough, though.

“Whatever you say, you’re the boss.” Rude said simply, waving his hand and spinning his chair back around to face the desk. He grabbed the stack of papers and held them together, tapping them on the table to straighten them out. Rude then stapled them and put them with the others in the bulging manilla folder titled “AVALANCHE”

When Rude turned back around, he noticed that Tseng was gone, and Reno was just standing there, arms folded and hip leaned against the side of his desk.

“Do you need something?” Rude asked.

“Uh, yeah, I don’t know anything about this place? Literally my first day here dude.” Reno replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Rude internally groaned. This was going to be a long partnership.

“Tseng didn’t tell you anything?” 

“Nope” Reno dragged out the p sound as though he were popping bubblegum. “He told me that it would be a good bonding opportunity.” Reno put up finger quotes around the last two words.

Rude stood up from his chair to his full height and found himself looking down on Reno pretty significantly. This was pretty normal for him, as he was rather tall to begin with. He pushed Reno out of the way and walked around to the desk pushed up against his. He pulled out the rolling chair, and gestured to it.

“Sit.” Rude said.

Reno stared at him for a moment before ultimately sitting in the chair.

“There’s a sticky note with a temporary login to the email and the tech support number, call IT about getting your account set up today.” Rude explained, feeling as though he had given Reno enough to do.

Rude circled back around to his own seat and sat down again. He quietly went back to his work, getting absorbed in the monotony of it. After some time had passed, he looked up to see Reno leaning back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, kicking his shoes against the top of the desk.

“Reno, did you do what I told you to?” Rude asked, which broke Reno out of his haze.

“Hmm? Wuzzat? Oh, nah.” Reno replied, grabbing a pen out of the little cupholder on the desk as he began chewing on it.

Of course he didn’t. This wasn’t much of a surprise to Rude, but he was still a bit annoyed nonetheless.

“Do it now. I’m going to watch you do it.” Rude said, feeling as though he was babysitting a child.

“What’s the number?” Reno asked, lazily picking up the phone and putting it to his ear.

“I wrote it down for you, like I told you.” Rude said, his never ending patience never on show more than in this situation, he thought.

Reno just stared at him, waiting for Rude to do it for him. Rude just silently got up and grabbed the small sticky note and placed it down in front of him, smoothing the adhesive down onto the table. Reno looked up at him from where he was standing over him and grinned. Weird kid.

It was then that Reno dialed the number, balancing the receiver in between his ear and shoulder, and Rude went back to work. He had plenty of paperwork to fill out in the meantime. He doesn’t get paid to babysit. He tuned out the talking surrounding him as he worked, focusing only on his objective. After some more time had passed, Rude looked up to find Reno in the same position as before, reclined in his chair.

Rude’s patience was beginning to wear thin as he watched the younger man continuing to chew on a pen, his eyes practically glazed over. He grit his teeth and stood up, walking over to where Reno leaned backwards in his chair. He put his face right above where Reno’s was and began to speak.

“Hey.” Rude said loud enough to shake Reno from his stupor.

“Wh-huh?” Reno stuttered, turning his chair around to face Rude.

“What should you be doing right now?” Rude asked.

“Dunno, no one told me what to do.” Reno said as though it were obvious again. This specific tone he had was beginning to annoy Rude.

“Well, Reno, in this job sometimes you have to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing by yourself.” Rude explained slowly, his patience hadn’t completely left him yet. He really was feeling like he was watching after a teenager.

Actually, how old was Reno? He looked incredibly young, his pale skin clear like glass without wrinkles, but his eyes had deep, dark circles under them indicative of a lack of sleep. That would explain how he keeps zoning out, he must be exhausted.

“Check your email, familiarize yourself with the system. I’m not your babysitter.” Rude said, walking back to his chair. 

He decided to pull Reno’s file back out and raked his eyes over it. He was barely twenty one, barely even able to drink. That probably never stopped him, Rude speculated. Rude also noted that Reno lived in the dorm housing that Shinra supplied for their workers who didn’t have other accommodations. Not really that weird, given that he was practically still a minor. It was a wonder that he was even allowed into the Turks at such an age. Tseng must really have seen something special in him for him to do such a thing.

The rest of the day went by pretty slowly. Rude had to refocus Reno several times, but at five PM sharp Reno stood up from his chair and walked to the elevator. Rude didn’t see him again until tomorrow.

When tomorrow came, and Rude was seated in his office chair at 8:55 sharp, Reno was still nowhere to be seen. This trend continued for the entire first week that Reno was here, he would stumble in at 10:45, 11, one day even noon. Tseng didn’t seem to be happy with it, but he was insistent on keeping Reno in the Turks.

“Just wait until you see him fight.” Tseng said one day when Rude stopped him by the coffee machine.

“If he’s a good fighter then why isn’t he in SOLDIER?” Rude asked.

“Just trust me.” Tseng finally said and disappeared back into his office.

Rude had just about had it with Reno by the time that a mission finally came up. It was a short one, just a visit to one of Midgar’s known AVALANCHE hideouts to arrest some of the criminals. They figured that they would need the help, since it was almost a given that they would try and run or fight back.

However, Rude didn’t expect to have to ride the train to below the plate. Apparently, neither had Reno.

“Man, why do we have to ride the train? Aren’t we all special ops and shit?” Reno asked, arms crossed and body slumped in the chair.

Rude sat across from him with his legs crossed, looking out the window.

“Cut costs I guess.” Rude supplied.

Reno didn’t seem to like this answer.

“I’d have been better off not coming here if they’re just gonna cut costs on me…” Reno trailed off.

The train ride was silent as neither of the two talked. They hadn’t worked on any of that “bonding” that Tseng had spoken about, and Rude didn’t think they would anytime soon. He figured they’d have a barely working relationship, if that, and then after a couple months Reno would drop out and he’d get to go back to working on his own.

The train stopped in the sector 6 slums as Reno and Rude got off the train with several Shinra infantrymen in tow. They strolled up to a shack on the edge of the town, and Rude knocked on the door. There was no answer, so Rude opened the door. As soon as the door was open, a hail of bullets fired through, causing Rude to swiftly step back.

“We have to find a back entrance!” Rude said, to which Reno nodded and went around the back. 

Reno darted in front of Rude at a surprisingly fast pace. Maybe there was something to what Tseng had said, about how he was a good fighter. Rude followed around the back to already see the door open, and Rude momentarily worried about Reno going in alone, however he decided he would use this opportunity to test how well he could fight.

Peering inside, Rude already saw Reno clashing with one insurrectionist. Reno swept his feet under one to cause him to tumble, and stabbed another with the tip of his nightstick, causing him to seize as the shock travelled through him. Interesting choice in weapon. Rude preferred to fight with his fists, but the weapon seemed to suit Reno.

The man who had been knocked over got up, and ran at Reno as he had before. Reno briskly turned around, and jumped to the side to dodge the fist coming at him. Reno turned around again, delivering a heavy thump to the top of the man’s head with his baton, knocking him out cold.

Reno stood up tall and looked at Rude and smirked as Rude noticed movement behind him.

“Look out!” Rude shouted as the other man lunged at Reno.

Ultimately, Rude was faster, and he reached across Reno’s shoulder to punch the assailant directly in the face. The sound of the impact of his fist ricocheting across the walls of the small shanty. Reno looked up to Rude’s face and made eye contact. The two held this position for an awkwardly long time until the Shinra soldiers started making their way in to cuff the two.

Rude stood around talking to the infantrymen as they milled around getting the two in cuffs when he heard Reno’s voice from the back of the shack.

“Hey Rude, c’mere!” 

Rude looked at the infantry soldier he was talking to who just shrugged, so Rude turned back to the door leading to the back. Reno was kneeled down next to a small girl with long brown hair that couldn’t be older than five or six.

“What do we do about her?” Reno asked, looking up at him.

It was weird watching Reno interact with the child, it pretty much warped his entire perspective on the kid. Reno was soft spoken and patient with her, telling her that he understands, and that her daddy only joined because they needed a place to stay, he got it. Rude mulled over Reno’s question before ultimately he came up with an answer.

“She’ll go to an orphanage, I guess.” Rude answered tiredly. Reno seemed to be agitated by this.

“No, there has to be something else.” Reno said.

“Her dad is being arrested, unless if we can find her mom she’s going to go to an orphanage.” 

“My mommy lives in Modeoheim.” The girl spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Good! We’ll get you back with your mommy then.” Reno said, a genuine smile on his face.

Reno helped the girl gather up her measly belongings and bring her (and her dad and his friend) back to Shinra HQ. The infantrymen took the two prisoners and the girl on a helicopter, leaving Reno and Rude to take the train back to base.

The beginning of the ride was quiet before Rude figured he’d finally broach the topic.

“So, were you an orphan?” Rude asked.

Reno looked taken aback by this, and he took a long time to answer. 

“Yeah.” Reno said, and then the silence was back.

After several moments, Reno finally spoke up again.

“My mom and dad died when I was pretty young, I barely even remember them. I was in and out of foster homes and orphanages ‘till I was sixteen and they finally threw me out on the streets ‘cause ‘a my bad behavior.” Reno explained.

Rude nodded his head indicating he was listening.

“I was on the streets for a while, till Tseng saw me in a bar fight and decided to recruit me to join you guys.” Reno concluded.

“I was wondering, since your file said you lived in the dorm apartments.” Rude supplied.

“You were reading my file? Looks like I got a new stalker.” Reno laughed.

Rude liked this Reno, he was still his laidback self but more honest and less cocky. He almost seemed like someone Rude could be friends with. 

“You like kids?” Rude asked, changing the subject.

“Because of that back there? Nah, I just see no reason to be a bitch to a kid that is losing one of their parents. I know how it feels.” Reno explained. 

Rude contemplated this and it fell silent in the train car. Reno was staring off into space, chewing on his lip. This kid must be a recovered smoker or something, as he seemed to be itching to get something in his mouth at all times. 

“Did you used to smoke?” Rude asked.

“Hm? Yeah, how do you know that?” Reno asked, seemingly not understanding his tell.

“I’m magic.” Rude said with a completely straight face. This caused Reno to burst out into laughter.

“Y’know Rude you’re not half bad.” Reno said, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair.

“I’m not half bad?” 

“Y’know, I thought you were some stick in the mud asshole who’s just a pencil pusher that sits around at their desk all day but can’t put their money where their mouth is when it comes down to it.” 

“I just believe that if I’m doing a job I’m going to do it right.” 

Reno laughed at that.

“And that punch! Man you’re fucking strong! We gotta team up more often!”

“I have good news for you Reno. We’re partners. We’re always going to be teamed up.” 

“Really? I heard that you didn’t have a partner before this. I thought you were gonna try and get rid of me.” 

“I may have come around on you a bit. Keep getting in my good graces and maybe I’ll keep you around for a while.”

Reno looked visibly excited at that. It hit Rude that probably no one wanted him around when he was young. Rude decided he’d shift the subject a tad.

“That means showing up on time, Reno. And doing your work.” Rude clarified.

“Okay, but what’s ‘on time’?” Reno asked.

“Show up at nine, clock out at five. Anything after or before that is overtime.” Rude explained.

“Never had a nine to five before…” Reno said.

“You have, you’ve been here for a week.” Rude said in a deadpan tone of voice.

“What the hell you’re actually hilarious?” Reno stated, but phrased it like a question

“I try.” 

“We should have drinks after work sometime!” 

“I’ll think about it.” 

It was silent in the train car after that, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. In fact, Rude felt more comfortable than he had the entire week. When the two got back to HQ, Reno kept up a steady stream of commentary for him on the walk in. Tseng didn’t usually show much emotion, but he seemed visibly less stressed at the state that Reno and Rude were in.

Rude walked up to Tseng who had been watching the two talk.

“So he is a pretty good fighter.” Rude stated decisively.

“What did I tell you?” Tseng deadpanned.

Rude just walked away after that, feeling as though he had done enough. It was almost five PM and it was almost time for him to go home. He went home that weekend feeling optimistic about the next week.

And when Monday rolled around, Reno was in the elevator with Rude by 8:55 AM sharp.

**Author's Note:**

> expect the fic to update on saturday, i might post updates sooner if i finish the chapter sooner. i am very busy with work and school though.
> 
> my twitter if @frei__kugel


End file.
